Bloods - Membership

Membership

Bloods refers to a loosely structured association of smaller street gangs, known as “sets,” which has adopted a common gang culture. Each set has its own leader and generally operates independently from the others.

Most Bloods members are African American males, although some sets have recruited female members as well as members from other races and ethnic backgrounds. Members range in age from early teens to mid-twenties, however some hold leadership positions into their late twenties and occasionally thirties.

There is no known national leader of the Bloods but individual Bloods sets have a hierarchical leadership structure with identifiable levels of membership. These levels of membership indicate status within a gang. A leader, typically an older member with a more extensive criminal background, runs each set. A set leader is not elected but rather asserts himself by developing and managing the gang’s criminal enterprises through his reputation for violence and ruthlessness and through his personal charisma. The majority of set members are called “soldiers,” who are typically between the ages of 16 and 22. Soldiers have a strong sense of commitment to their set and are extremely dangerous because of their willingness to use violence both to obtain the respect of gang members and to respond to any person who “disrespects” the set. “Associates” are not full members, but they identify with the gang and take part in various criminal activities. To the extent that women belong to the gang, they are usually associate members and tend to be used by their male counterparts to carry weapons, hold drugs, or prostitute themselves to make money for their set.

Recruitment is often influenced by a recruitee’s environment. Bloods recruit heavily among school-age youth in predominantly poor African American communities. Gang membership offers youth a sense of belonging and protection. It also offers immediate gratification to economically disadvantaged youth who view the trappings of gang life: gold jewelry, cash, expensive sports clothing.

Blood sets have a loose structure of ranks based on how long a person has been involved with a particular set.

The ranks do not signify leadership or dominance over the set, they merely signify respect for those who have been in the set longer and have survived the longest. Those with a higher rank do not have a position of authority over Bloods of a lower rank. Bloods with higher rank are often referred to as “Big Homies” by Bloods with lower rank. They also refer to each other as "relatives". Once a person has joined a Blood set, it is for life, one can not leave the set or flip (switch) to another set.

Bloods members commonly refer to themselves as CKs (an initialism of Crip-Killer), MOBs (an initialism of Member of Bloods), dawgs, or ballers (meaning drug dealers).

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